Airshow Horror Stories

[Eric Friedebach]

Sometimes we fight back: We had a problem with people grabbing the tail guns by the barrels and trying to move them. They even broke the lock on a couple of occasions. Solution? GREASE, and lots of it

That reminds me of the time a couple of really rambunctious kids were hanging around. They must’ve had a few extra bowls of sugar frosted flakes for breakfast. They weren’t really doing anything *wrong*, just being pests. They thought it would be fun to whack me with the inflatable F-16 they bought in the PX, that kind of stuff. Mom and dad were nowhere around.

Finally, I put them to work wiping down the landing gear. That lasted for about 15 minutes before they got bored and went away – with oily clothes.

I love radial engines!

[Former Member]

John...Mrs. Mudge also teaches 4th grade and believe me, the percentage is higher than 25%. (Parents included.)

Mudge the teacher's pet

You're right, I was being conservative with my estimate....it's probably much higher. I guess I'm not surprised so many of these kids have zero manners considering some of the crappy home environments they come from (if I remember correctly nearly half of her kids come from broken homes). Then there's the parent's lives that are so screwed up that they can barely take care of themselves, let alone their kids. Some of the things these parents devulge at parent-teacher conferences, you'd swear came right out of the Jerry Springer show.

John

[warbirdguy]

I have so much fun to look forward to as I'm going to school for elementary education.

Last edited by warbirdguy on Mon Apr 02, 2007 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Former Member]

I have so much to fun to look forward to as I'm going to school for elementary education.

You have my sympathy!!!

John

I was at a show here in Knoxville back in '95 and there was a Huey Cobra that had the rotary gun in the chin turret. Stenciled on the turret was something along the lines of "Danger: Do not rotate by hand." Naturally some little goofball was giving it a good twist while his father stood nearby, oblivious.

Dave G.

Last edited by Valkyrie on Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Punisher05]

You know, reading through these stories reminded me of something that my dad did when I was really little.

Fifi flew into Baton Rouge Metro airport once when I was a kid (we moved in '93 so it was before then). My dad is a huge warbird nut, so we went to check it out. If memory serves me right we were looking at the nose when dad boosted me onto his shoulders and stuck me up inside the crew compartment...where I locked eyes with a very ticked-off older gentleman who immediately ordered me out with a few tracer-rounds of blue language.

Both dad and I were terribly embarassed. In dad's defense, he worked for the media and was used to poking his head around things.

Learned my lesson though....

[TAdan]

You know, reading through these stories reminded me of something that my dad did when I was really little.

Fifi flew into Baton Rouge Metro airport once when I was a kid (we moved in '93 so it was before then). My dad is a huge warbird nut, so we went to check it out. If memory serves me right we were looking at the nose when dad boosted me onto his shoulders and stuck me up inside the crew compartment...where I locked eyes with a very ticked-off older gentleman who immediately ordered me out with a few tracer-rounds of blue language.

Both dad and I were terribly embarassed. In dad's defense, he worked for the media and was used to poking his head around things.

Learned my lesson though....

I will usually poke my head into an open hatch...I dont touch anything, but if the hatch is open I will take a peek

[bdk]

The next excuse is that they don't have time because of work, family, etc. That is true for lots of people, no question. But who's going to do it for you? Teacher, daycare, neighbors, peers?

The local gang leader or drug pusher isn't very busy working and has all the time in the world to spend with your kid if you don't have any.

[Airlift48]

I think one of the worst things I saw was at one of the last Westminster shows in MD, some kids were driving a golf cart around rather near the planes and it happened. They ran directly into the elevator of a MiG 15 parked in front of us. They didnt do much damage, but enough to make the owner very unhappy.

The worst thing I heard of was the kid who ejected himself out of some plane at Latrobe in 95 or 96.

[sdennison]

I think one of the worst things I saw was at one of the last Westminster shows in MD, some kids were driving a golf cart around rather near the planes and it happened. They ran directly into the elevator of a MiG 15 parked in front of us. They didnt do much damage, but enough to make the owner very unhappy.

The worst thing I heard of was the kid who ejected himself out of some plane at Latrobe in 95 or 96.

More details necessary on that one!

[mustangdriver]

I think that was in 1995. I was there, but it was one of those things that you just saw from really far away, and didn't hear what happened until that night at dinner. We were there with the C-123.

[Airlift48]

I have so much fun to look forward to as I'm going to school for elementary education.

Well, Ive been teaching HS for 12 years in NJ and I'll agree that kids are not as respectful as they once were. I wont give you 25%, though. 15% is more like it. But that 15 is really f*&%ed up.

I have had many students come out to local airshows and really get into the experience. It makes me very happy to see that.

So, the whole generation isnt wasted, just a larger portion than used to be.

On another note, I caught some young kid, Dad watching, flipping breakers in the breaker box of the '54. We also used to have the gun port plugs in the windows. Kids were always pulling them out and the grommets with them. We finally got new windows and omitted the plugs (and a bit of originality) in order to eliminate that problem.

The worst smoker stories:

Winston-Salem. Woman sitting on main gear tire smoking a cigarette right under a seeping #2 main fuel tank (Capacity: 490 gallons). When asked by me to put it out, she says, "There's no sign that says I cant smoke here" and walks off indignantly.

Location UNknown: Man smoking under wing. Sir please put the cigarette out, there are 3,540 gallons of highly flammable gasoline above your head. Response, Sure, Im sorry and puts it out.

10 minutes later, same man spotted by me cupping newly lit cigarette in order to hide it and prevent me from discovering it. As a former smoker, hiding it from Mom and Dad and anyone else, the cupping maneuver is very familiar to me. So, this time, I was not nice. "Youve been warned, now beat it".

All of these stories are familiar. When kids sit in the main gear tires and walk away with tire shine, oil, and hydraulic fluid all over them..priceless.

Yes, you could write a book on the subject.

Kids crawling around the co-pilots seat to get up front with Dad looking...you get the evil eye when you ask them to get out of there.

People sitting in the seats on top of the signs that say "Please Do Not Sit On Seats" happens all the time.

All of this is par for the course. Unfortunatley its the nature of the beast. Keep a watchful eye and try to reduce the incidents as best you can.

And I thought it was just us. Wow.

[Bill Greenwood]

A friend is a teacher and I asked her opinion of what % of kids are "bad". She has taught in a honors level class in an all Black Houston school, 99% kids were good; a bottom level all Black school where kids would and did steal from you, 95% bad, and top school integrated and all income, races, and backgrounds in Va where 98% of kids were good. The worst school had an indifferent principal who would not expell a student for throwing a chair at a teacher.At that school only 2 parents out of 40 students even showed up at parent teacher conference. Even in that school with unemplyment and crime in the neighborhood, there was one Mother that stood behind her child and guided them to an education.

[mgeorge51]

OK I think I have the topper of all times

If you look really close under the fuselodge fuel cap on my polished Mustang you will see a set of initials etched in to the aluminum.

They are deep enough that after many years of polishing they are still very much visible.

Another car show horror. Had numerous visitors going under the ropes and get in the car. If I shut the door they would open it and get in even while it was obvious I was there.
Then the big fact guy who when I answered the MPG's question with 9 he corrected me with the factories claim. I responded with the only quick comeback line in my life. I responded that while your car may get 11 mpg's mine gets 9.

[Former Member 2]

Last edited by Former Member 2 on Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:44 am, edited 1 time in total.